More sex assault charges against Winnipeg therapist Jim Norris

A 50-year-old osteopathic therapist in Winnipeg is facing two more charges of sexually assaulting clients.

Police say Jim Norris was arrested on March 8, and they believe more charges could still be coming.

"We certainly are aware that this went beyond the two victims that were discussed here," said Const. Rob Carver. "There is the potential that more victims could come forward."

The investigations into Norris' conduct began in June 2016, when the first victim, a 25-year-old woman, came forward with claims she was assaulted in April.

Norris was then arrested again on Dec. 30 after a 47-year-old woman went to police reporting she had been sexually assaulted while receiving treatment between 2013 and 2014.

The two most recent victims — a 34-year-old and a 56-year-old — approached police in January and early February of this year with their stories.

Police say both women, who did not know one another, were inappropriately touched and sexually assaulted at different times, one in 2012 and one in 2014.

The incidents happened while they were in a clinical setting in the Wildwood Park area, police said.

According to the Canadian College of Osteopathy, Norris is not qualified to practice as an osteopathic manual practitioner. He was a student, but did not graduate from the program.

Norris, who has been released from custody on the latest charges, has a scheduled date in July on the charges relating to the first complainant.

In an email, his lawyer Josh Weinstein noted that Norris is presumed innocent.

"Whether charged with one offence or 20 offences, an accused is always presumed innocent and the burden of proof never shifts away from the Crown's obligation to prove the charges. We will await disclosure and then proceed through the system, advancing a vigorous defence on behalf of our client," Weinstein wrote.